P.S. Jones Middle School’s eighth graders will take audiences into a fairy tale world,  with this week’s production of the musical “Into the Woods Jr.”

The musical, a Stephen Sondheim production, will lead audiences into an intertwined plot of several Brothers’ Grimm fairy tales and follows them to explore the consequences of the characters’ wishes and quests. The main characters are taken from “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Jack and the Beanstalk,” “Rapunzel,” “Cinderella” and several other tales. The musical ties these together with an original story involving a childless baker and his wife.

“My character, the Baker’s wife, is actually the lead in the musical,” said Abby Harris, an eighth-grade student. “She teaches people that no matter how bad a situation is, something good can always come out of it.”

Mrs. Neva Cashion had run the program in years past, but this being his first year, P.S. Jones’ Music and Theatre Director Stephen Brand decided to do something that has not been presented in a long time, according to Brand.

Brand said his eighth graders have put a semester’s worth of work into this production, from learning lines and songs to becoming acclimated to stage acting.

“They also had to learn to actually act using microphones, like lapels and head microphones,” Brand said. “There’s a lot that went into them actually pulling this musical together. The fact that I’m a brand-new teacher with them and having them used to what one person did, versus what the new person is doing. There’s been a lot of transition, but it’s going to be pretty good.”

The art department contributed to the musical as well, Brand said. Art students helped create a gigantic tree for center stage as well as a castle and a tall tower for the Repunzel scenes.

“We probably might’ve been able to do more for our scenes, but we thought it would be best to work on the acting and singing,” Brand said. “It’s a minimal set, but it still has some interesting characteristics to it. It’s a unique setting.”

The musical, set to debut tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the P.S. Jones Middle School Cafetorium, will be presented Wednesday through Saturday, starting at 7:30 p.m. There are two casts of students who will alternate performances. One cast will perform on Wednesday and Friday, and the other will perform Thursday and Saturday. Cost of admission for Wednesday and Thursday is $5 and for Friday and Saturday, admission is $8. Tickets can only be purchased at the door.

Harris, who will be performing the lead role all four nights of the production, spoke about the preparation that went into presenting the musical.

“We had to be very dedicated and we had to be very self aware at what was going on around us and make sure everyone was on task and everything was on hand and it would turn out well,” Harris said.